Author: Boria Majumdar

Boria Majumdar in Melbourne All eyes were on him, and he clearly wasn’t in the right mindspace. A player who has won the mental battle each time questions have been asked of him seems no longer to be able to. He was dismissed by a nothing ball. Rohit Sharma could easily have left it alone. He could have played a full-blooded pull shot. He did not do either. A half-hearted limp stroke which just lobbed into the hands of Scott Boland and further dented Rohit’s tour numbers. No one can say when a performer needs to call time. It is…

Boria Majumdar in Melbourne Australia were in control when, almost against the run of play, Washington Sundar got the wicket of Marnus Labuschagne. Once the cheers subsided, the Australian section of the crowd started to almost celebrate. Coming out was Travis Head – the best batter on view in this series and someone who has singlehandedly tormented India multiple times in the past. The second new ball was still close to 15 overs away and India were facing the daunting prospect of bowling to Head with an old Kookaburra. That was when Rohit Sharma handed the ball to Jasprit Bumrah.…

Soon after the Sydney Test match in January 2019 had been called off and the press conferences from both captains were over, Tim Paine, accompanied by his wife and other family members, was seen pushing his child’s stroller and silently walking out of the SCG. There were a handful of Indian fans waiting outside the ground, but none bothered to walk up to Paine to ask for a picture. Paine, who had led Australia with dignity and poise in the aftermath of Sandpapergate, hadn’t been able to deliver results. Good behaviour, while it was important, wasn’t enough in the absence…

How important is an award? More so when it is the Khel Ratna – the highest sports award in the country? Clearly it is of significance. It is a vindication of what you have achieved and why you are the best in that particular year. Make no mistake, if anyone deserved the Khel Ratna in 2024 it is Manu Bhaker. No Indian has ever won two medals at the Olympics and it is a no brainer she was the best in Paris 2024. And remember, she was almost on course to win a third medal and lost out in a…

Boria Majumdar in Melbourne This is my first cricket tour after serving the ban. And where better to restart than the Boxing Day Test? In fact, Tuesday’s was the first Indian practice session that I had attended in two-and-a-half years. And may I say, I enjoyed it. Observing things closely, which has always been something I have done, making my own notes and the like. In fact, as I was making notes standing right behind the net in which Ravindra Jadeja was batting, I tried explaining to a colleague how he was intent on leaving balls outside off stump. That…

Boria Majumdar in Melbourne Monday was the first time I was back at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) since that amazing T20 World Cup encounter between India and Pakistan – a match now famous for Virat Kohli’s incredible match-winning innings and back-foot punch for six. And the moment I reached the Dennis Lillee statue outside Gate 2, so very iconic of the MCG, it reminded me of an incident which I will always have fond memories of. On October 23, 2022, the MCG was a real spectacle. India v Pakistan was a festival and fans had come in from all…

Boria Majumdar in Melbourne The Boxing Day Test is the biggest draw of the Australian summer. Talking of great rivalries in cricket, it doesn’t get better than India versus Australia. Ticket sales have been very encouraging, and if administrators are to be believed, a crowd of 90,000 is expected at the MCG on December 26 when the Boxing Day Test gets underway. There’s a lot at stake for both these powerhouses of world cricket, each aiming to make the final of the World Test Championship and give their fans the perfect New Year present. The Indian fans’ dislike of the…

I have always felt that covering Test cricket is the most challenging and, at the same time, most enjoyable assignment for a journalist who loves the sport. More so when it is the Boxing Day Test with everything to play for, there could be close to 100,000 people at the MCG, and the intensity and the drama add to the theatre, making it a spectacle unrivalled. That’s what should get the best out of a journalist. How do you report on the match? How do you stand out? How do you break the clutter? What can you be different in…

Over the last four years, Mohammed Siraj has seen it all. He lost his father early into the tour of Australia in November 2020 and could not come home because of the quarantine norms Down Under. What’s more, none of his teammates could even go to his room to give him a shoulder to cry on. At the time, there were police outside every room just in case the Indians tried to violate protocol. Only the physio was allowed to go to his room to treat him, and Nitin Patel used the window to console the young man who was…

The Boxing Day Test is one of the most important matches for India in recent times. The stakes are huge. If India win, they retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. It would mean that Australia have failed to beat India at home in a decade, an achievement Indian cricket fans would savour for all time to come. It will also mean that the World Test Championship final door stays ajar. Clearly, there is a lot to play for at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG). And that’s where the story moves to Rohit Sharma. He hasn’t looked the part in the series so…